Xenosaga: A Soldier's Firsthand Experience
by ShadowHeero
Summary: Basically, I inserted myself into the game. I went with Episode 1, since that is the one I am playing. This is the kind of thing you get when you daydream too much and are unable to work, due to an accident... With that out of the way...enjoy my story...
1. Chapter 1

-1Setting of the story:

This is a bit of creativity on my part, since I am not fully educated on the Xenosaga story. As I learn more about the storyline behind Xenosaga, I will incorporate it into my fan-fic. And since Namco owns Xenosaga and all its characters… I am giving them a great deal of credit for creating such awesomeness…

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…The date is October 16th, 2002.… The day after I turned 21. I got some letter in the mail, marked **URGENT. **It also contained 'reporting' instructions, as well as a ticket to Berlin… First class, I might add…

I suppose I should introduce myself… My name is Kevin Savage. I live in the dull and quiet suburbs of Northern Virginia. Frankly, I hate the place. So I now have an excuse to leave… but I was hesitant… What was I reporting to… Where (or WHO) did the letter come from? I was half excited, and half curious… And why the hell did they want ME? Wasn't there someone better?

After a day of questions forming in my head, I gather what little belongings I treasured, and headed for my destination, as well a s my destiny….

After reaching Berlin, I was instructed by officials to board a shuttle which would take me to the space colony, where my destiny would begin… Upon boarding the shuttle, I recognize my friend Sean, who tells me he got the exact same letter…just an earlier flight…

"Hey… its 0730 hours…. You are late!" a female voice shouts over the intercom! "You were supposed to be in the main conference room over a half hour ago! What is the hold up!"

"…….Just 30 more minutes…" I said, turning over to drown out the intercom.

"GET UP NOW!" the voice shouted… very loudly…

Convinced that I should get up for my own good, I decided that 30 minutes of sleep wasn't that important. After my usual 35 minute routine of getting ready, I was hopping through the door of the main conference room, attempting to get into my right shoe. As the right shoe was properly adjusted on my foot, I fell to the floor with the grace of a gazelle. After muttering a few inappropriate words under my breath, I picked myself up and attempted to salvage was a reasonably crappy first day… For someone who did not have any idea about what I was doing here or the people I was involved with, I sure was taking it in stride… Not for long though…

"What the hell took so long?" asked an average-height brunette. "That is no way to gain confidence with your superiors…"

"…Sorry. Not quite used to early mornings," I replied in a low tone. "Back home, I worked my own hours… which were much later than…"

"Well, Whatever you did back home, JUST FORGET IT!" the brunette asserted. "This is your home now, and there will be MANY things that will be different! So get used to it!"

After that lovely chewing out, I decided not to further piss off who appeared to be the head of whatever I had just been drafted into… So, using a little intelligence, I decided to take the only seat open. To my left was a young boy with purplish hair. Judging from how we was sitting, which was leaned back in the chair, to the point where he could have put his feet up on the table. However , he wisely just stretched his legs on the floor. To my right was what I perceived to be an angel. She was slightly taller than I, with long light blue hair, red eyes, and what I perceived in my mind to be a smile…


	2. Chapter 2

-1CHAPTER 2: The Purpose…

"Well, now that we are all here, we can begin…" the brunette says curtly. "Now we will start off by having our recruits introduce themselves"

Looking to my left, my friend casually stands up. He casually introduces himself on a first name basis, which I was sure would piss off the brunette. However, surprisingly, it didn't. Then the attention of the room shifted to me. _I have already made such a great impression, _I thought to myself. _Better make this one count…_

"Hello. My name is Kevin," I said, attempting to show some bearing about myself. Looking around the room, I noticed that I was getting some rather odd looks. "…should I be saluting…or something…?" I asked, sheepishly.

For the first time since I made my dramatic and stellar appearance, I could actually feel the tension in the large room drop. Suddenly, after a brief pause, there was laughter in the room.

After what felt like an eternity of mockery, the brunette, wiping tears from her face looks up, saying, "You can relax…This isn't the military…"

A few moments later, the room quieted down to the state it was before, without the tension from earlier. Everyone was back to paying attention to the brunette, who from my perception, was in charge. _Maybe she was the one who summoned me…_I thought to myself.

"Now that we have that out of the way, let me explain why you are here," the brunette continues. "This is the base for Vector Industries and the Galaxy Federation. You two were summoned here after several months of research and evaluation were done. Simply put, we were looking for the best, and we believe we got it."

"The best?" I asked. "Sorry to interrupt… but the best for _what?_ That letter I got wasn't exactly informative!"

"Very well," the brunette said. "I understand your concern. Perhaps I will start by introducing myself. I am Shion Uzuki, of Vector Industries."

From that point, she motioned that everyone else do the same. One by one they stood up and followed suit.

The blue hair woman stood up and identified herself as 'KOS-MOS'.

Then the boy introduced himself as 'Jr.'

There was a short red haired girl. Noticing her for the first time, I pegged her at 12. _What is she doing here? She only looks like she's 12! _She stood up and identified herself as MOMO.

Last to introduce himself was a silver haired young boy. His name was Chaos.

After all introductions were made, the attention shifted back to Shion. She then informed Sean and me that there were two more to the party that we would meet later. Then she went on with answering my question.

"Now to answer your question, Kevin…" she starts to explain. "Vector Industries is part of the Galaxy Federation. We recruited you and Sean because after careful surveillance and research, we believe that you two might be of great help to our mission."

She paused to look at Sean, who seemed to be further in space that the base was. Slightly annoyed, Shion moved over to Sean casually. She then pulls out what appeared to be an expanding yard stick. Smacking the space beside Sean, she looks at him, saying, "Care to join us?"

After b few moments of rapid blinking, Sean looks at Shion and says, "What? Did I miss anything? Last I heard was Galaxy Federation and something about a mission…"

Confused, Shion stares at Sean…_He seemed to be day-dreaming, yet he was paying full attention… Wow, maybe we were right about them…_She then glances at me. _Him, I'm not quite sure about yet…_she thinks to herself, eyebrow twitching… Shortly, she regained her composure, and continued where she left off.

"We are in the middle of a war…" she says, matter-of-factly. "Our goal is to protect the Zohar, a rare and mysterious artifact. Our enemy is the Gnosis, a breed of aliens who want the Zohar. Not much is known at this point, but we can ascertain that their purpose for possessing the Zohar can't be for good."

She looks at me, and then cracks a slight smile. "You two are gonna go through some training… Nothing difficult. Just some shooting…and Mecha-pilot training." She keeps her eyes on me the entire time, noticing that I perked up slightly when she mentioned the Mecha-piloting. _I knew that would get his attention, _she smiled to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Chapter 3: The Training Begins…

After a de-briefing that lasted well into the night, I was finally able to return to my quarters. Nothing extravagant, it was no more than the size of a walk-in closet. I had a full size bed, which was extra firm. There was a desk and chair, a cupboard for food rations and a space for my clothes. Surprisingly, there was no required uniform. _So this is nothing like the military_, I thought to myself. I woke up at the prerequisite 0700 hours, and was prepared to go at 0745 hours, fed, dressed and groomed.

"Kevin, are you awake?" Shion's voice rang through the intercom. "You have ARMS training at 0800 hours. Please report to the ARMS Training Hall on the fifth floor."

"Morning, Shion!" I said, finishing up putting on my shoes. "I'll be on my way shortly."

It didn't take long to find my way to the fifth floor…. I was on the fourth. And the weapons training hall was the fifth floor. When I opened the door, I was instantly greeted by the person I would be training with.

"A good morning to you, Kevin," KOS-MOS said to me. "It is now time to commence your ARMS training. Here…take this and follow me…"

Following her, I try to casually strike up a conversation. "So… how are you this morning?"

She turns to look at me quizzically. "Functioning at 85… how about yourself?"

"I am doing fine," I said. At that point, I realized that there was very little more I could say. Holding the pistol that she gave me earlier, I continued to follow her. _Why is it that I can't even hold a simple conversation with a female… not even a female android…? _

Apparently, while I was mentally beating myself up for lack of social skills, we had reached our location. Confused, I looked around… "So what are we about to do here?" I asked.

While setting up what appeared to be a control panel, she turns slightly and replies, "Battle simulators. This SIM will take you through a variety of battle situations that you will face while with the Galaxy Federation." She turns to face me, smiling. "We shall commence whenever you are ready."

KOS-MOS and I went through three training simulations. The first was a 2-on-4 battle. Then there was a city ruins simulation. And we ended with a shooting range type simulation. After the SIMs were completed, KOS-MOS went to power down the system. As she was powering it down, she looked at me and smiled, saying, "Your scores for the SIMs should prove to be impressive…"

After I fed myself a small lunch, consisting of granola and Ramen, I took a brief nap. ARMS training wasn't exhausting, however, it felt good to be able to lie down and rest, even if for a few minutes. I figured at some point in time, I would be summoned for either more briefing or training. So, I decided that when I had down time, this is how I would spend it.

After getting comfortable, I managed to get about an hour of sleep before the intercom went off.

"Kevin, are you in there?" a familiar voice rang over the intercom. "Time for more training."

"I'm here, Shion," I muttered, stumbling out of my bed… "Gimme a few moments to wake myself up."

After about fifteen minutes of stretching and splashing water on my face, I rang the intercom. Waiting patiently for Shion to respond, I decided to double check my appearance. _Look your best and put your best foot forward, _ I told myself.

"Good afternoon, Kevin." Shion says, with what I imagined was a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yes I am," I responded. "So where do I report?"

"You have ARTS training in the Combat Hall on the third floor at 1430 hours," she informs me. "That's 20 minutes from now."

"Roger that!" I reply. " I am on my way!"


	4. Chapter 4

-1Disclaimer: This chapter is still part of the overall story, HOWEVER, there are a few bits that only people who know me will find humorous…Read at your OWN risk…

CHAPTER 4: Training Continues…

"Welcome, Kevin…" Shion greets me as I walk into the ARTS training hall. "We will now begin your ARTS training…"

"I am guessing this is hand-to-hand and melee combat training…" I said, questioning.

"That's correct," Shion replies. "We will go through hand-to-hand combat techniques, and then proceed to melee combat."

With that, we began our training. We spent 90 minutes working on judo and Muay Thai techniques. Afterwards, we took a 15 minute break. Shion left for a minute and returned with juice.

"Here you go," she said, handing me a can. "This'll get your energy up in no time."

After our break, we began the Muay Thai portion of my training. The training lasted another 90 minutes. During this portion of the training, Shion decided to 'learn more' about me.

"You know, I couldn't help noticing in the conference room on your first day," Shion says, attempting a high kick. "You were staring at KOS-MOS a lot. It almost looks like you're infatuated!"

Caught off-guard by the random nature of the question/statement, I almost fell victim to one of her attacks. However, I recovered quick enough to block her attack. Searching for what to say, knowing that I would be interrogated further, I decided to admit my 'feelings.'

"OK, so I like her! Is there something wrong with that?" I shout, still blocking her attacks.

"_SHE'S A ROBOT! **OF COURSE **THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT!" _Shino shouts, putting everything into this last attack. Sadly, my attention being diverted to the conversation (or argument), I was unable to block the attack. The force of impact on the side of my head knocked me down and left me with an all percussion band going on a ten city tour of my brain… and I had a front-row season pass…

"Truth is, I kinda figured she was a robot anyway," I commented, still rubbing my head. "Her response from my asking how she was this morning was a bit of a dead giveaway!"

"So you know…" Shion asks, exhausted. "And you still admire her like that?"

At this point, I had no idea what was going through Shion's head. _Wait… she doesn't think that… huh-boy… I hope she's not getting any perverted ideas.. _I thought to myself. I figured that I had my work cut out for me. After all, it wouldn't be easy working with a team where the leader thinks I am some robot chasing pervert.

After the training sessions, I was summoned into Shion's quarters. She was sitting on her bed, quite calmly. I walked in cautiously, not knowing what to expect after the awkwardness during the ARTS training. She acknowledged my arrival and motioned me to a chair by the bed. I sit down, cautiously, wondering what was about to transpire.

"I'd like to apologize for losing my temper earlier…" she said, apologetically. "I was the head of the KOS-MOS project. I pretty much oversaw her creation. The first one was a success, yet she went berserk and killed… Many died… The second one, which is the one you see everyday, she was the one who was a success. To this day, I still carry the guilt from the first one…"

I looked on, afraid to say anything to upset her any further. I was about to ask a question, but I scratched it when I looked at her and noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. At this point, I had no idea, what I should do. _Do I console her? How much would be going 'too far?' _ I decided to try to console her.

"I am pretty sure what happened the first time was a disaster," I said, approaching her cautiously. "However, I hope you don't blame yourself for those events…"

As I got closer, she grabbed me. I wasn't sure what to make of her grabbing me. As it turned out, she was hugging me. _What did I just get myself into? _I wondered. She looked up at me, still with tears in her eyes.

"I don't blame myself for what happened then…" she said softly. "I am just really protective of

KOS-MOS. I don't want anything to happen to her"

Brushing the tears from her eyes, I looked down at her and smiled. "I understand. The way I am, I will do _all _I can to protect her."

She looked up at me and smiled slightly. "Thanks. I know you will do everything in your power to protect her."

With that, the next moments were _very _awkward. Just as I started to smile back, she leaned up and kissed me. I wasn't sure what to make of the moment, but I sure wasn't gonna fight it. The moment lasted for what seemed like an eternity. When our embrace separated, we just stood there and stared at each other. Somehow, we both felt like it was just right.

Shortly after, I left for my quarters to attempt to sort out what just happened…. 'cuz I was really confused. …happy…but confused…


	5. Chapter 5

-1Chapter 5: The Calm before the Storm….

I spent the majority of the morning in my room. I was still trying to piece together the events of last night. _What exactly led up to that kiss? _I question to myself. _Its not that she's not attractive, 'cuz she is smoking hot… _ I continued trying to think of what to do next. My next question was, _ Do I try to take this 'relationship' further or just ride it out and see what she does? _While I was lying in my bed, thinking, Sean rings my door intercom.

"Who is it?" I asked, getting up slightly.

"Its me, Sean…" he replies. "You busy?"

"No. Just sitting here thinking…"

Sean enters my quarters, and immediately sits in my chair. I return to my bed, sitting up. Sean starts to tell me of his training. He tells me that his ARMS training with Chaos didn't go as well as he thought it would. He did better when it came to the explosives. His hand to hand combat was with MOMO, and he told me it went reasonably well. I asked him if he was looking forward to getting the A.G.W.S training. He was as excited as I was, naturally not showing so on the surface. He then asks me about my training.

"It went well in both parts," I told him. "KOS-MOS was impressed with my ARMS training."

"And you were surprised by this?" Sean asked me. "So who did you do ARTS training with?

I smiled nervously. "Shion," I respond, not sure if I should tell him what happened.

"That must have been a little awkward, seeing as how you spent majority of the first briefing ogling KOS-MOS," he said, smiling. "That had to have come up while you two were alone for 90 minutes."

I looked at him, wondering exactly how much I should tell him. "Of course it came up!" I decided not to reveal what happened last night. "But after a few moments of talking, I resolved any wrong ideas."

We continued reminiscing until Shion's voice came over my intercom. "Kevin, have you seen Sean?" she asked.

_Thankfully, she's not acting any different towards me, _I thought to myself. _I would hate to see what would happen if they figured out that there was some chemistry between us. _Shaking my head to get back to the subject at hand, I respond to the intercom.

"He's in the room with me," I say. "What's up?"

"You two need to meet me in the Conference Room. We need to assign an A.G.W.S. to each of you," she replies. "then at 1500 hours, you will have a crash course in Mecha-piloting."

"…Crash course?" Sean and I both ask simultaneously. I continued, "I don't think I even wanna know what the 'crash course' is composed of."

"Sorry to do this to you guys," Shion says apologetically. "But, due to intelligence, I fear we may need you both sooner than originally planned. Basically, you will learn a lot of stuff in a very small time frame"

With that announcement, Sean and I headed from my room to the main conference hall. Once we got there, Shion was waiting at the door. The three of us walked in together. Sean and I sat down in front of a desk and Shion moved a chair to the other side.

"We basically have two types of A.G.W.S. The first is the VX-series. The other is the AG-series," Shion informs us. "Would you like to choose which type or would you like me to assign you each one, based on our Intel?"

"I would like a VX-series," Sean says.

"Doesn't matter which one really," I said. "Long as I get some good ranged weapons, I'm happy…"

Shion makes a few notes in each file. Then she looks at Sean. "I will have your VX-6500 brought to your Mecha training with Chaos and MOMO shortly. Before you officially start the training, Final customizations will be made."

She looks over the scores for Sean and notes that were made by chaos and MOMO. Looking at Sean, she says, "Based on your scores, I have decided to equip your VX-6500 with arm-mounted daggers, and dual energy swords. Was there anything else you wanted to add?"

Sean shook his head. "No. That pretty much covers it…" Sean then went back to his DS.

_Sometimes I have no idea if he's really paying attention or not, _Shion thinks to herself with a sigh. "Very well," she says to him. "Proceed to Training Hall A on the 2nd floor."

With that, Sean walks out of the room and proceeds to his next training session, still with his face in his DS. _I guess there's things about these two I will never understand… _ Shino sighs again…

I admit that at this point, I was nervous. Here we were, alone…again. _Do I make a move or just attempt to appear non-chalant? _I was not sure if she could notice my uneasiness, but she continued to approach me nonetheless. When she got close to me she sat in my lap and rested her arms on my shoulders. At this point, she just smiles. We stay like that for a couple of minutes (though in my mind, it felt like an eternity..) She gets up and returns to her file, jotting down some notes. After she stops writing, she looks up at me and smiles.

"OK, we got your AG-7500 configured," she says. "We've got an assault rifle for your main weapon, and a shoulder-beam cannon for secondary weapon." She then gets up and walks toward the door. "Well, let's go. KOS-MOS is waiting in Training Hall B."

I get up, walking fast enough to catch up with her. As soon as we are side-by-side, I slow my pace down, more or lees matching hers. I guessed at this point she could tell that I was still nervous from the events from last night.

As we walk to our next destination, she looks at me, smiling more than earlier. "If it makes you feel at ease," she starts saying. "Your impressive skills aren't the only reason that you're up here."

I looked at her, confused, but a little more at ease. "You mean…"

She puts her finger to my lips, as if to silence me. "Yes," she says, now whispering in my ear. "I admit that most of the Intel on you was done by me. Surprisingly, there are quite a few things that are in a 'personal' file that **_no one _**else has seen… not even KOS-MOS…"

At this point, she grabs my right arm. At this point, I look down and she's blushing slightly. "There was something about you…" she states, "that I somewhat obsessively looked into it myself on my own time. It didn't take too long for me to decide that I had to ensure that you were chosen."

Hearing that made my day. I even cracked a smile (that wasn't out of nervousness). We walked the rest of the way to our destination just simply enjoying each other's company.


End file.
